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EDF announces major new campaign to turn out young voters for climate action

August 26, 2014

Contact:

Keith Gaby, 202-572-3336, kgaby@edf.org

(Washington, D.C. – August 26, 2014)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today announced the launch of a major new
campaign, Defend Our Future, which
will focus on motivating young voters to show their support for climate action
at the ballot box.

The campaign will begin with a two
million dollar voter turnout effort in Colorado aimed at demonstrating the
power of young voters who care about solving climate change.

“Young voters of both parties
understand climate change is a threat to their future. This campaign is about
showing them they have the power to make politicians listen,” said Dr. Alicia Kolar
Prevost, who is running the effort for EDF. “Polls show that more than 80
percent of Millennial voters understand that we need to deal with climate
change, but they don’t always turn out to vote -- especially in midterm
elections. We believe that climate change can motivate these voters, and that
will make candidates take notice.”

The Colorado effort is in part a
test run for a larger national effort going forward. Defend Our Future will combine
on-the-ground organizing with a mix of new and proven technologies in digital,
social and data targeting honed in the 2012 campaign. The effort aims to
collect 100,000 pledges to vote in Colorado this year. The campaign's website
is defendourfuture.org. The campaign
will also be releasing a series of videos.

“Voter turnout efforts have become
highly scientific in the last few election cycles,” said Mitch Stewart,
lead consultant for Defend Our Future and former Battleground States Director
for President Obama’s 2012 campaign. “Combining the strong feelings young
voters have about climate change with the latest get out the vote tactics will
be a powerful combination.”

The message of Defend Our Future
will focus on empowerment for voters under 35. Younger voters represent the
leading edge of a growing demographic wave that is far more supportive of
climate action than older cohorts of voters.

“There’s a lot at stake for young
voters. This is their chance to make a difference for their future,” said Dr.
Prevost. “Success for us is when elected officials realize that doing the right
thing on climate change is also smart politics.”

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Connect with us on EDF Voices, Twitter and Facebook.